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ShareKOLKATA: Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi and the Calcutta High Court cracked the whip on West Bengal government for the police firing that killed 15 villagers and injured more than 50 in Nandigram on Wednesday.
The governor outright blamed the state government for the rash police action and termed the incident as "a needless human massacre."
Delivering judgment on a Public Interest Litigation filed on the Nandigram killings, a divisional bench of the Calcutta High court, comprising Chief Justices SS Nijjar and Justice PC Ghosh termed the police firing as totally unconstitutional and ordered the CBI to collect evidences and inquire into the incident.
The division bench also ordered the state government to file an affidavit narrating the details of the circumstances under which the firing was ordered. It also asked the CBI to collect the post-mortem reports conducted on the victims and warned against any tampering of evidence. Describing the incident as a "black day" in the history of the Left Front regime, the RSP and the Forward Bloc slammed the state for such an inhuman act and alleged that the decision to open fire was taken without informing the allies.
However, in a statement in the state Assembly on Thursday, chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee described the Nandigram episode as tragic and said it was
unavoidable. "The police action was inevitable since all previous attempts to restore law and order had failed. Despite repeated reminders that there would be no SEZ in Nandigram, TMC supporters staged protests and caused inconvenience by digging up roads. Even the all-party meetings failed as the TMC boycotted them.
The various spasms of violence, including the murder of several CPM cadres, finally forced us to take the police action," Bhattacharya said.
The chief minister also added that he has no objection to the CBI inquiry.
Trouble bells ringing in West Bengal
'I am shocked'
Opposition leader LK Advani expressed "shock over the barbaric violence" in Nandigram and the way the police were let loose on the farmers. "The problem is with Buddhadeb's party and its Stalinist mindset. If he admits his mistakes, I will welcome it."
NHRC notice
The National Human Rights Commission has sent notice to the Chief Secretary and DGP of West Bengal asking for factual report on the police violence in Nandigram. Taking suo-motu cognisance of newspaper reports, the Commission said, if the contents are true it will raise a serious issue of violation of Human Rights. It has given the duo two weeks time for the factual report.
'Inquiry welcome'
Brinda Karat, CPM politburo member and Rajya Sabha MP, said: "We're absolutely transparent. We've nothing to hide, and we are ready for any kind of probe, be it a CBI inquiry or a judicial probe." No government would like such an incident to happen, she said.
'It's a strategy'
CPI (M)'s mouthpiece People's Democracy said following the electoral drubbing they received (the Opposition led by the Trinamool Congress) in the state Assembly elections last year, these sections in their desperation to regain some political space have embarked on such a "diabolic strategy."
Managing conflicts
Dec 2006
WB government and Salim Group jointly announce a chemical hub and an SEZ at Nandigram
Jan 2, 2007
Haldia Development Authority serves land acquisition notice
January 3
Six dead in clashes between CPI(M) and Land Eviction Resistance Committee members
January 4
Roads, culverts, bridges connecting Nandigram breached to stop police entry
January 5
WB CM asks district magistrate to remove HDA's notice
Febuary 4
Buddha promises not to set up SEZ without people's consent
Febuary 7
District Intelligence Branch sub-inspectorSandhu Chattopadhyay lynched to death
